


Call Me, Beep Me

by IntelligentAirhead



Category: Persona 4
Genre: Agender Souji, Friendship, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Trans Guy Yosuke, mentions of being outed
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-25
Updated: 2015-05-25
Packaged: 2018-04-01 03:53:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,009
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4004857
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IntelligentAirhead/pseuds/IntelligentAirhead
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sometimes, when it's late at night and you've had a rough day, it's nice to get reminders that your friends care about you. </p><p>This is especially true when you've been turned into a dragon.</p><p>(Commission fic for BlueShellBeast as a continuation/AU of his fic Ch-Ch-Changes.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	Call Me, Beep Me

**Author's Note:**

  * For [BlueShellBeast](https://archiveofourown.org/users/BlueShellBeast/gifts).
  * Inspired by [Ch-Ch-Changes](https://archiveofourown.org/works/3508181) by [BlueShellBeast](https://archiveofourown.org/users/BlueShellBeast/pseuds/BlueShellBeast). 



Yosuke hated lying on his belly. It was uncomfortable and wrong, and he always felt like he was holding his arms incorrectly.

If he splayed them out, he felt like a damn five-year-old pretending to be a plane, or like he was being crucified. On the other hand, if he trapped his arms beneath him, they would brush against his chest— which, first of all, no, and second of all, no— or fall asleep. It felt like there was television static buzzing beneath his skin, and he got enough of that every time he entered the TV world. Yosuke had never felt shittier than the time his entire left leg— including one of his ass cheeks— had fallen asleep because he’d been sitting incorrectly in one of the break room chairs at Junes the wrong way.

He grimaced and corrected himself. He hadn’t felt shittier than that up until he started sprouting fur, antlers, and the most direct cause of his current sleeping arrangements, his goddamned tail.

Yosuke whimpered. He had managed to put it out of his mind in the wake of his annoyance, but his lower back was still throbbing. He had gotten the shitty idea into his head that if he could just get used to the tail, it might stop hurting. The only result had been the aching twinge of unused muscles protesting such an intense work out.

Souji had offered him pain medication, but Yosuke had stubbornly refused, something that he now regretted. His pain threshold would impress no one; fighting had given them all veritable pain foyers, and they all accepted Dia skills without any fuss. It wasn’t as if Souji was just waiting for Yosuke to accept so that they could smirk triumphantly and tell him all about how he obviously wasn’t manly enough to just walk off the pain.

Especially when Souji had downed two caplets themself before confessing that they probably couldn’t sleep otherwise. Still, Yosuke had assured them that he was quick to fall asleep, and Souji had eventually conceded that perhaps Yosuke didn’t need the medication after all— even if they’d done so reluctantly, darting concerned glances at him until Nanako caught their attention with a plea for one of their stories before she went to bed.

Yosuke glanced at Souji, feeling like a sore Styrofoam noodle as he flopped upward, propping himself on his elbows. After telling Nanako a bedtime story, Souji had taken their usual sleep medication in order to counter their insomnia and promptly passed the fuck out. Luckily, they slept on their side usually, and were spared the awful weirdness of feeling completely wrong every time they tried to get comfortable.

Yosuke suppressed a flash of envy, trying to shut it down with logic. It would have been even worse for Souji if they were used to sleeping on his back; they had spines now, after all. They had to be in as much pain as Yosuke, if not more. There was no reason for Yosuke to feel like he had the raw end of the deal. Still, it stung, especially considering the way everyone had run to comfort them instead of Yosuke.

Teddie, meanwhile, was splayed out on his back. Yosuke felt absolutely no guilt about envying him, and glared for a solid good minute. It was ineffectual, but it at least made him feel better.

Sighing, Yosuke let his arms collapse underneath him. Everyone was getting sleep but him. It wasn’t fair, and he knew he wasn’t being reasonable, but he didn’t deserve the constant shit he had to put up with, damn it.

He didn’t think he deserved it, anyway.

Before he could follow that train of thought down into the dark, abandoned mine shaft where it was doomed to crash, however, his phone vibrated, lighting up with an incoming message.

 **(02:23)**  r u awake?

 **(02:23)** i thought u would be b/c today was rough.

Yosuke fiddled with his phone, biting the inside of his cheek. He wasn’t expecting Rise to check up on him. He glared down at his talons, wishing he could actually text back, but grateful that he didn’t have to respond immediately. For all Rise knew, he was asleep. His phone buzzed again, causing him to nearly drop it.

 **(02:25)** ok, so i’m rly bad at tlkng thru txt so here is a cheer up emoticon

 **(02:25)** Fight!!(ｏ＾-^)尸~''☆ミ☆ミ

 **(02:26)** i feel like i’m not mkng nythng better. sorry.

 **(02:26)** just thought you needed sumone to be there b/c u looked rly upset, and a friend can mean a lot.

 **(02:28)** ok, yeah, u have senpai and senpai is gr8 times infinity, but sumtimes u need sumone around who isn’t perfect u know?

 **(02:28)** teddie doesn’t count b/c we may  <3 him but i rlly don’t think he gets deep emotional stuff.

Yosuke squinted happily down at his phone. Rise was a really, really good friend. It made him wish he was actually up for talking. As it was, he simply settled to the side, enjoying the feeling of someone caring about him.

 **(02:31)** omg i cant believe I 4got. i’m an idiot omg. u have talons rn.

 **(02:32)** u literally can’t txt me back.

 **(02:32)** srry if ur asleep, but i’m checking that ur ok.

Yosuke took it all back as his phone began to pulse in his hand, informing him that he had an incoming call. He didn’t think he could handle a conversation. For a moment that seemed to last eternity, he considered not answering.

Eventually, however, he stood up and slid out into the hall, answering the phone as soon as the door closed.

“Yosuke-senpai?” Rise asked, concern coloring her tone. “Did I wake you up?”

“No. No, I was already awake,” Yosuke whispered.

Yosuke could hear Rise pause for a moment. “You aren’t okay,” she said, “but I needed to check what level of not-okay you’ve hit.”

The sigh of air leaving Yosuke’s lungs seemed too loud in the silence of the house.  He slumped, pressing the phone harder against his ear. “Rise-san, I…” He made a frustrated noise. “Okay, I’m not gonna lie. This whole mess has fucked me up pretty badly. I have a tail, I’m too fluffy for my clothes to fit, so I’m wearing one of Souji’s Uncle’s shirts and hoping he won’t kill both of us when he sees us, and I’m pretty sure I’ve been outed to anyone who bothered to look at me after the shitty effect took hold. I feel like shit.”

There was a beat of silence, long enough for Yosuke to regret unloading like he had. He should have just kept his damn mouth shut. Preparing to apologize for going off, he opened his mouth.

“I’m sorry, Yosuke-senpai. No one deserves that; you shouldn’t have to deal with it.” Her voice was strong with conviction.

All at once, Yosuke felt his eyes watering. He rushed to wipe the tears away, and winced at the feel of talons against his skin. “I feel so stupid. Like, I should have expected that I can’t have anything for myself without ruining it.”

“Oh no, no, no, you listen to me, Hanamura Yosuke. You deserve to expect more for yourself— you can’t let anything make you feel like you deserve the short end of the stick because, trust me, you don’t.” She sighed, and the phone crackled.

“I’m really sorry you were outed, senpai. Especially considering it was after you were in some pretty intense pain, by the looks of your readings in the TV world.”

Yosuke let a bitter, wet chuckle escape. “Nothing like having your friends know that you’re a huge fucking hypocrite, right? God, Kanji must think I’m the world’s biggest asshole.”

Rise hummed. “I’m not going to contest the asshole thing because, let’s face it, you are really awful to him sometimes. That still doesn’t mean you somehow deserved this, Yosuke-senpai.”

“Obviously the universe thinks differently,” Yosuke grumbled.

“Then the universe can cheerfully kiss my ass,” Rise said, her tone matter of fact. “Look, you have good friends, senpai. We all care about you and want you to be okay, and god help the shadow that tries to get in our way. We’re a team, and we’re there for you.”

“Then why did— no, you’re right. Forget it.”

“Yosuke-senpai?” She sounded cautious, and that made it worse. If she had sounded like she had no idea what he might be alluding to, or that she was totally confident that he had nothing to worry about, maybe it would have been better. Instead, Yosuke felt his stomach twist.

“Why did no one check on me? They all went to Souji. They _cared_ about Souji. I don’t…” He took in a shuddering breath. “I don’t want to be jealous of them. They’re my partner; they’re great, and smart, and everyone loves them, and I know exactly why they do, but I’d like it if just for once, just for one single, solitary second, someone gave a fuck about me.

“You’re the only one that even bothered to text me,” Yosuke finished, blinking furiously. He was not going to cry about this; he wasn’t.

“Kanji-kun prefers calls because they feel more personal, Chie-senpai was worried about how it might appear if she was suddenly treating you gently, Yukiko-senpai has been stressing about how blunt she gets and how that might go down like a lead balloon, and Souji-senpai and Teddie are with you right now,” Rise said. Her voice softened. “They do care about you, Yosuke-senpai. They just really suck at communicating in each of their own special ways.”

She hummed again. “It’s different with Souji-senpai. They ask you what’s wrong, they listen, and they prod or step back depending on what you need. They’re so good at getting stuff out of you that you feel like it’s okay to freak out in front of them. It’s tougher for them to figure out how to react to you when you get upset.”

Yosuke tried to bite the inside of his cheek, but only managed to open and shut his mouth with a snap. He squinted, disgruntled. The new shape of his jaw would be hard to get used to.

“Are you psychic outside of the TV world now?” He asked, then winced. That sounded a lot sharper than he had intended.

Rise laughed. “More like they all start hounding me for advice when Souji’s tied up. Believe it or not, they are worried about you, senpai.”

Yosuke could no longer pretend he wasn’t crying, as the fluff on his face was getting distinctly damp, and he wasn’t sure he liked the smell.

“Assholes,” he said, sniffling. “A bunch of overly anxious, considerate assholes.”

“Yeah,” Rise said. “Yeah, that’s us just about summed up.”

He could hear the smile in her voice, and it made him feel like she might be right. Maybe, just maybe, people cared about him.

After a moment of silence, Yosuke spoke up again. “Hey, Rise-san, if everyone goes to you for advice when Souji’s out of commission, then who do you go to?”

“Nanako-chan,” Rise said. “She’s a wise, wise soul, you know.”

Yosuke let out a huff of laughter, to his own surprise. “Nanako-chan? Really? She’s seven.”

“That doesn’t mean she doesn’t know a lot more than pretty much everyone, Yosuke-senpai. You can learn a lot just by asking Nanako about her day.”

“I’m not sure I believe you.”

Rise huffed in indignation. “You don’t have to believe me for it to be true. You’ll just have to admit that I was right the first time that Nanako-chan helps you get through a rough patch.”

Yosuke snorted. “Alright, alright. If and only if Nanako gives me some stunning advice, I’ll apologize for doubting you.”

“I want a signed apology in calligraphy,” Rise said. “Oh, wait, make that embroidery. Get Kanji to teach you how to make me an apology throw pillow.”

“I am not making you a pillow!”

“You obviously don’t care enough about apologizing correctly, then,” Rise teased.

Yosuke shook his head, and then realized Rise could not see him. “I really am sorry for just unloading everything on you, you know.”

“That is not the kind of apology I was talking about, Mister.” Rise’s voice was stern. “I don’t want that one. Take it back.

“I am perfectly ready to listen to you, or Kanji, or Souji, or anyone on the team unloading, especially when one of you has the kind of day from hell that you had. What I am not prepared to hear is you apologizing for needing to vent,” Rise said.

Yosuke groaned. “Okay, usually when I vent I get to follow it up with punching something. I am a guest at Souji’s house, so I can’t hit anything. The next best thing is to apologize for shoving my feelings out for you to stare at. Please let me do that.”

“It’s not something you need to apologize for, though!” Rise made an annoyed noise. “Look, I meant it when I said I was there for you. I mean it when I say the entire team is here for you. You do not need to apologize to us when you have any kind of emotional response that isn’t the most convenient to deal with. We get that it happens. We care about you.”

Yosuke looked down, ducking his head. After a long pause, he took a deep breath. “Thank you, Rise-san.”

“You’re welcome. Now get some sleep, senpai. I don’t want to imagine facing Dojima-san on an empty tank in the morning.”

Yosuke snorted. “Trust me, I know I’m dead.” He shook his head, and then, hesitantly, spoke up again.

“Uh, before I, uh, go… Can I ask you something?”

“I’m pretty sure I already told everyone, but my sizes are—“ Rise started, her tone as blasé as it was every time she volunteered that kind of info.

“No, not that,” He paused. “Do you think anyone will, uh, bring it up? I mean, you know…”

“No, Yosuke,” Rise answered, her voice soft. “I don’t think they’d bring it up unless you did. Like I said, they care about you.”

“That’s good. That’s— yeah. Yeah, that’s all I needed to… Yeah.” He swallowed. “Thanks, Rise-san.”

“It wasn’t an issue, Yosuke-senpai. Get some rest, okay?”

“Yeah. You too.”

The silence of the house was all the more strange for the way it followed the near constant exchange of voices, even if Yosuke had been whispering the entire time. Still, the house no longer seemed as gloomy, the shadows no longer as bleak.

Even Yosuke’s tail seemed to be less painful to maneuver, which he tested when he shifted back onto his feet, ready to slide back into Souji’s room.

Things were looking up, he thought. He wouldn’t be in pain forever, and he had his friends.

Even when he nearly had the shit scared out of him when Souji’s eyes caught the light, flashing metallically, he couldn’t bring himself to be upset.

Souji blinked at him, waggling their hand in a questioning gesture.

Yosuke flashed them a thumbs up and swore he heard their friend rumble in contentment.

“Souji,” he whispered, breaking the silence. “Where did you put the pain meds?”

Souji’s rumbling seemed to only intensify. “About time you asked. It’s on the shelf closest to you,” they whispered back.

Yosuke felt their eyes on him as he took out two caplets.

“You shouldn’t take them dry, you know,” Souji said, their tone disapproving.

Yosuke shrugged. “I’m not risking your uncle coming back while I’m getting a drink of water.”

“Fair enough.” Souji yawned. “I’m glad you’re okay, Partner.”

Swallowing hard and remembering the things Rise said, Yosuke nodded. “I have good friends.”

“Yeah,” Souji said, nodding from where they lay. “They’re all really,” they interrupted their sentence with yet another yawn, “great.” They then proceeded to shut their eyes, appearing to pass into unconsciousness for all intents and purposes. Yosuke didn’t know how they could fall asleep that quickly when they had such bad insomnia. Must’ve been their sleep medication, he thought.

Yawning himself, he began to settle in next to Teddie and Souji, trying his best not to disturb either of them. Teddie, of course, ruined this plan by immediately rolling over to capture Yosuke in a relentless hug.

“Okay, time to let go, Ted.” Yosuke peered down at his friend, prying at his arms. “Ted,” he hissed. “C’mon.”

Teddie blinked groggily up at them, his brow crumpled. “I was really scared about you and Sensei today, Yosuke. I’m glad you’re both okay.”

Yosuke felt some of his irritation melt. It did not dissipate enough for him to want to continue being held like a lifeline, but some of it _did_ melt.

“Yeah. Yeah, Teddie, I’m glad we’re okay too. Now let go of me and get some sleep, why don’t you?”

“But you’re so fluffy!”

“Teddie, I swear to god, if you don’t stop commenting on my fur I will test whether or not it is possible to suffocate you with my tail.”

“That’s mean, Yosuke!” Teddie pouted, but let go of him.

Yosuke sighed. “Sleep well, Teddie.”

“Sleep well, Yosuke! Snug as a bug in a rug full of hugs!”

Yosuke felt his long ears flick in bewilderment. “Uh, yeah, Ted. Snug as... that.”

With that, Yosuke flopped onto his belly, hoping that he’d be able to actually fall asleep this time.

And despite the way that Teddie hogged the blankets, the creak of the stairs when Dojima finally came home, and the chorus of exhales that filled the room, Yosuke was eventually able to settle into a long, deep sleep.

Across the room, his phone vibrated while he rested, lighting up with messages from various friends. One in particular would cause him to roll his eyes the next day, even as he flushed in gratitude.

 **(03:23)** i told u so senpai. \\(^__^)/

 


End file.
